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The Next Best Thing by Kristan Higgins (HQN 2010) is a paperback, 400 pages, contemporary romance. This review was written by fellow reader, Senetra.
*****
Kristan Higgins’ The Next Best Thing features pastry chef Lucy Lang Mirabelli, who has been widowed for almost five years. Her husband Jimmy, also a chef, died in a single-car accident following a trade show, and she has been unable to eat her own desserts since then, instead filling her need for sweets with Hostess cupcakes and Twinkies.
She has also never been able to visit his grave. With the birth of her niece, Lucy realizes that she wants to have a family, but she doesn’t want to risk loving and losing someone again. This is mostly due to the women in Lucy’s family (her mother and three aunts) having a history of becoming widows at young ages. Corinne, Lucy’s sister also lives in dread of joining their club, to the detriment of her marriage.
After making the decision that she is ready to remarry, Lucy informs Ethan, her best friend, brother-in-law, and friend with benefits, that they can no longer sleep together and the reason why. Ethan has been her rock since Jimmy’s death, and Lucy values his friendship. She spent her childhood missing her dad and wishing that her mother would remarry, and part of her happiness with Jimmy came from being part of a family with a living father.
Fear of his death has her holding Ethan at arm’s length and denying her feelings for him. After some bad dates, and a prescription for anti-anxiety meds, Ethan convinces Lucy to try dating him, but she wants their relationship to remain a secret for a while.
The mixed reactions of their family and friends; the entrance of a Jimmy lookalike; and Lucy’s attempts to figure out who she is now, and who she wants to be add to her stress. Some unwanted confrontations lead to revelations about Lucy, Jimmy, Ethan, and their relationships that finally allow Lucy to move on.
This is the third Kristan Higgins book that I have tried, and the first one I have read from start to finish. The other books started with a bang, then as the plot seemed to slow in the middle, I lost interest. I can’t leave a book unread, so I skipped to the last few chapters to see how everything came out in the wash.
The premise really intrigued me, so I decided to try it, even though my previous experiences with Higgins were not so great. When I started this book, I already knew that the heroine would tell her own story, have an animal, and encounter a Mr. Could Be the Hero But Isn’t. What I didn’t expect with the emotion that I felt while reading.
I felt an almost overwhelming sadness for all of the characters: The Black Widows who (happily or not) clung to memories of their dead husbands; Captain Bob pining for Daisy; Corinne’s fears for her husband; Gianni and Marie’s loss; and Lucy, Jimmy, and Ethan. They all seemed to be stuck in situations that that they either could not, did not want, or know how to change.
This was a complete turnaround from what I remember from the previous books I read, and I kept reading without skipping any parts because I needed to see how Lucy came to her HEA. This was hard going for me as a romance reader, and while I enjoyed most of the characters, I can’t say that I really enjoyed their journey. Grade: C+
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
@Bev Stephans: Thanks Bev. I will start with that one. Appreciate it.
@Keishon
“Catch of the Day” is still her best one. If you have a backlist, I would start with that one. After “Catch”, you can read in any order as none are connected.
Looks like I’ll start with some of her earlier novels and save this one for last.
I’m a big fan of Higgins and the “in-law” thing has never bothered me. I do agree that the story is sad but I think what keeps it sad is that Lucy loves her sadness. It’s like she glories in it. The constant watching of her wedding video made the think that she enjoyed the pain that it brought her and the dating of her dead husband’s ringer also seemed to feed that depression she clung to.
@Preeti: I don’t think of it as incest, but I do always wonder: does that character really want to be able to compare one brother to another in all ways? There’s loving your inlaws and then *loving* your inlaws…
Jill D., I don’t mind the heroine’s journey, or even the first person. I even avoid the dating the sibling’s ex books (this book’s premise overcame that somehow). This book was just so sad and depressing, though. Now that I’ve thought about it for a few seconds, if you took off the romance label and ended it when she finally goes to visit the grave, it could almost be considered literary fiction.
@jmc: The more exaggerated characters in the book (heroine’s wacky aunts, her Italian in-laws) do sqawk ‘incest’ and ‘illegal’ when they discover relationship. It’s played more for laughs, though.
@Preeti: Oh, that just pushes one of my squick buttons. Higgins seems to like doing that, pairing characters with siblings of exes or past partners.
@jmc: Yep: Ethan is younger brother of dead-husband Jimmy.
Ethan is her brother-in-law? Is he the brother of her sister’s husband? I’m hoping not the brother of her dead husband. The family dynamics in a couple of Higgins’ books have bothered me, and this would too. I think she’s just one of those writers who does not suit me.
Hi Senetra! Welcome aboard. I read Too Good to be True a couple of months ago and really enjoyed it. I put this one on my wish list. Too bad that it seems to have a black cloud over the story. It still sounds interesting though.
It seems to me Higgins writes in the style of women’s lit than romance. To me it seems the books is more focused on the heroine and her journey than the romance between the heroine and the hero. Not that that’s a bad thing. I like to take a break from romance and mix things up every now and again.
I’ve only read one Higgins book and also found it unexpectedly painful. A powerful writer in a sense, but not exactly what you’re led to expect.